Philippines President Duterte injured in road mishap
Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hurt his hip and suffered scratches in a motorcycle accident, senior aides of the 74-year-old leader said Thursday.
Duterte, whose health has been the subject of intense public speculation, suffered the mishap at the Malacanang presidential palace compound late Wednesday, according to spokesman Salvador Panelo.
The crash came 10 days after Duterte -- the oldest person to be elected Philippine president -- disclosed he is suffering from myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that could potentially have serious complications.
"The president was reaching for his shoe when he fell off his motorycle that resulted in a minor injury, particularly light bruises and slight scratches, to his elbow and knee," Panelo said in a statement.
Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, his former assistant and close aide, earlier told reporters Duterte had "crashed" and complained of hip pain after the accident, but was not hospitalised.
Panelo, citing Duterte's girlfriend Cielito "Honeylet" Avancena, said the president's injury will not require major treatment and "there is nothing to worry about". Duterte was trying to park the vehicle after driving around a courtyard Panelo said, adding the leader was now resting at the palace.
Go later shared a video showing Duterte, wearing formal clothes -- without a helmet or other protective gear -- driving riding on a paved drive at night. The actual accident was not shown in the clip.
Panelo declined to explain why there were two versions of the accident, stressing: "Whatever the story is, what is important is he is in good hands -- no major injury."
Questions about his health have swirled since he took office in 2016, with Duterte at times skipping events and meetings or discussing his various ailments during long and rambling speeches.
The Philippine constitution requires the handover of power to the vice president if the leader dies or is incapacitated, Duterte revealed in 2016 that he used to take fentanyl, a powerful painkiller, because of a spinal injury from motorcycle accidents.
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Misuse of power, money to control election mechanism seen during Maharashtra polls: Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed the misuse of power and money to control the entire election mechanism, which was never before seen in any state assembly or national polls, was witnessed in Maharashtra.
Pawar made the statement when he visited senior activist Dr Baba Adhav, who is protesting against the alleged "misuse of EVMs" in the recent state polls in Maharashtra.
Adhav, who is in his 90s, began his three-day protest at Phule Wada, the residence of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, in the city on Thursday.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), have been alleging manipulation of EVMs in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly elections, which saw a landslide victory by the Mahayuti.
The Mahayuti, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP, won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the November 20 polls, while the MVA managed just 46 seats.Talking to reporters, Pawar said elections were conducted recently in the country, and there is a restlessness among the people about these.
Baba Adhav's agitation represents this restlessness, he said.
He said, "There is a murmur among the people that the recent polls in Maharashtra saw 'misuse of power' and 'floods of money', which was never seen in the past. Such things are heard of in local-level polls, but taking over the entire election mechanism with the help of money and misuse of power was not seen before. However, we witnessed it in Maharashtra, and people are restless now."
He added that people were recalling late socialist ideologue Jaiprakash Narayan and felt somebody should take a step forward.
"I heard Baba Adhav has taken a lead into this issue and is agitating at Phule Wada. His protest gives hope to the people, but it is not enough. A mass revolt is necessary, as the danger of the parliamentary democracy getting destroyed looms," Pawar said.
The former Union minister said those who have reins of the country in their hands are least bothered about this.
"Despite widespread discussion over it (alleged misuse of EVMs) in the country, whenever the opposition tries to raise the issue in the Parliament, they are not allowed to speak. Opposition leaders have been seeking an opportunity to speak on these issues for six days, but their demands have not been accepted even once. It shows they want to attack parliamentary democracy," he claimed.
He said Dr Adhav's protest is a fine example of someone revolting against the issue and expressed confidence that his protest will create a ripple effect.
